For participants who are mostly or solely readers and don't post much or at all, a good buy is MCI-MAIL. They allow incoming Internet mail for free, above their annual fee of (last I heard) $35. However, their rates on out-going messages are expensive. Also, if there's a Free-Net in your region then clearly that's something that should be pursued. (The "price" can't be beat -- there's no charge.) A current list of Free-Nets can be ftp'd from nptn.org. -- Roger Burns [log in to unmask]